Son of embattled cat owner arrested

Brittany Lyte, Connecticut Post

Brittany Lyte, Staff Writer

Updated 12:26 am, Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Marion Perreira, right, 90 of Stratford, and her son William, 56, exit Bridgeport Superior Court on Tuesday, January 3, 2012. Perreira is being sued by Stratford over custody and care of cats that have been removed from Perreira's home since July 2010. Following the hearing, William Perreira was arrested by Stratford Police on three counts of animal cruelty.
Photo: Brian A. Pounds

Marion Perreira, right, 90 of Stratford, and her son William, 56, exit Bridgeport Superior Court on Tuesday, January 3, 2012. Perreira is being sued by Stratford over custody and care of cats that have been removed from Perreira's home since July 2010. Following the hearing, William Perreira was arrested by Stratford Police on three counts of animal cruelty.
Photo: Brian A. Pounds

Marion Perreira, 90 of Stratford, exits Bridgeport Superior Court on Tuesday, January 3, 2012. Perreira is being sued by Stratford over custody and care of cats that have been removed from Perreira's home since July 2010.
Photo: Brian A. Pounds

Stratford animal control officers attend a hearing in the town's lawsuit against Marion Perreira at the Superior Court on Main Street in downtown Bridgeport on Tuesday, January 3, 2012.
Photo: Brian A. Pounds

Police arrested the son of a 90-year-old Stratford woman who is being sued by the town for possession of four cats seized from her home last year.

William Perreira, 56, who lives with his mother on Frash Street, was charged with three counts of animal cruelty. He turned himself in on a warrant Tuesday immediately following a civil hearing at state Superior Court in Bridgeport.

William Perreira appeared in court that morning on charges that he and his mother, Marion Perreira, violated a signed agreement with the town by failing to provide required veterinary care to five cats in their possession. Marion Perreira owns and cared for the animals, but Perreira lives in the home and co-signed the agreement.

The town is seeking custody of the four remaining cats -- the fifth cat has been lost, according to a report generated by the town -- or nearly $6,000 in fees to cover expenses the town has paid for animal care.

But after learning the town had also filed criminal charges against the mother and son, Judge Dale W. Radcliffe continued the hearing to Jan. 23.

"You're not going to whipsaw people with criminal and civil charges," Radcliffe said to Town Attorney Christopher Ciancanelli.

"If the town wants to proceed criminally and civilly at the same time," he added, "the court wants to be very sure that these civil proceedings are not used to incriminate them so that they have potential criminal liability."

He said all criminal matters should be resolved before the civil case resumes.

Radcliffe also continued a hearing in a dispute between the town and Dawn Marie Pieger, 47, of West Broad Street, for the same reason. Pieger is a nationally recognized German shepherd breeder who was arrested last month after police said they found more than a dozen of the purebred dogs malnourished and living in filthy conditions in her home.

At Radcliffe's request, Ciancanelli called the Stratford Police Department to see if a police officer could come to the courthouse to serve the arrest warrant on William Perreira.

William Perreira said he did not know there was an active warrant in his name. But he agreed instead to turn himself in at police headquarters following the hearing.

"It will be a promise to appear in court if Mr. Perreira goes to the police department before 3 p.m. today," Ciancanelli told the judge, relaying a message from the police department.

Police served William Perreira with the arrest warrant about noon and released him on a promise to appear in court Jan. 19.

William Perreira's arrest marks the most recent development between the Perreira family and the town since the Animal Control Office received a complaint of a foul odor emanating from their home and sickly cats and kittens roaming their property in July 2010. Since then, 52 cats have been removed from the family's home and about 20 of the cats have been euthanized, according to a report generated by the town.

In February, the Perreiras signed an agreement authorizing the town to clean their home and discard anything tainted by cat urine or feces. The town agreed to return five cats to Marion Perreira after the cleaning if she agreed to provide routine veterinary care stipulated in the agreement.

Marion Perriera later submitted a claim to the town for $35,555 worth of items she said were discarded from her home during the cleaning process without her permission. The town has denied this claim.

The town returned five cats -- Max, Simon, Julia, Lucy and Pumpkin -- to Marion Perriera after the cleaning. But in July, authorities said she broke the agreement by failing to provide them with proper veterinary care. The town seized four of the cats. The fifth cat has been lost, the town's report states.

Marion Perriera said she broke the agreement because a veterinarian advised her not to bring the animals in for treatment in accordance with the schedule set by the town, and she wanted to do what was best for the cats. She said she will fight for their custody.

"They said if I broke the contract, I broke the contract and that's that." she said. "But that's not fair. I love my cats. I was doing what was best for them."

Reach Brittany Lyte at blyte@ctpost.com or 203-330-6426. Follow at twitter.com/blyte.